World Press Freedom Day | Why is it celebrated?

In the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the O.N.U. It establishes that all individuals have the right to opinion and expression and that this means that they have the right not to be disturbed by their opinions and also to "seek, receive or disseminate information or ideas through any means of expression and without border restrictions ». The difficulty of this right being respected in many parts of the world makes The celebration of a World Press Freedom Day is absolutely necessary. Join us in Supercurious to discover why it is celebrated.

The Freedom of the Press is "the immunity of the media to publish or disseminate information either through printing or electronic issuance or publication, without any governmental control or censorship." The existence of Freedom of the Press is absolutely necessary to preserve individual rights and is also one of the pillars on which free and democratic societies are based. Freedom is basic for both individuals and communities. If you want to reflect on it, we propose you these Freedom Phrases pronounced by thinkers of all times.

Why is World Press Freedom Day celebrated?

The World Press Freedom Day is celebrated on May 3 and this anniversary offers the opportunity to study the moment in which press freedom is found throughout the world. At the same time, it presents the occasion to defend the media of the attacks that receive their independence and it is also time to pay tribute to all those journalists who have died in the performance of their profession. Reporters Without Borders has posted 1035 journalists killed in the last 15 years.

In 1993, the General Assembly of the United Nations together with UNESCO proclaimed the May 3 as World Press Freedom Day . His idea was that with that celebration "Freedom of the press in the world is encouraged by recognizing that a free, pluralistic and independent press is an essential component of any democratic society" . This commemoration also supports all those journalists who, by practicing their profession, put their lives in danger.

In the call that UNESCO makes to all countries on that date, it invites them to reflect on all those issues related to the press, journalism, communication and information. The date is because On May 3 the Windhoek Declaration was made which talks about freedom in the exercise of journalism.

1. Declaration of Windhoek

The Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralist Press It was carried out by a group of African journalists who met in Windhoek, capital of Namibia, under the auspices of UNESCO between April 29 and May 3, 1991 to promote an "independent and pluralist African press." From that seminar emerged a declaration of principles on freedom of the press that was made public at the end of the meeting on May 3, and that has served as the basis for many other statements.

2. UNESCO World Press Freedom Award

Among UNESCO's initiatives to celebrate World Press Freedom Day is the granting of the World Press Freedom Prize UNESCO-Guillermo Cano that this organization delivers every year. It is one of the most prestigious awards of journalism and is given to reward the person, organization or institution that has distinguished itself for its extraordinary contribution in both the defense and the promotion of Press Freedom in the world.

3. The countries that are most and least respectful of Press Freedom

Do you want to know which are the most respectful countries with the freedom of the Press in the whole world? According to the last report issued by Reporters Without Borders, the Scandinavian countries take first prize as the list is headed by Finland, Norway, Denmark along with the Netherlands. New Zealand and Costa Rica are also in this group. On the other hand, the countries with the greatest restrictions are Eritrea, North Korea, Turkmenistan, Cuba and Venezuela, according to this same organization.

More than a third of the world's population lives in countries where press freedom does not exist. For this reason, the celebration of World Press Freedom Day is important since it forces us to reflect on the importance of receiving free and plural information to which we are all entitled. Did you know that May 3 is World Press Freedom Day? Do you think it's important to celebrate it? Leave us your opinion in the comments section.